Lethal List #5 - Cross River and Eastern Lowland Gorilla

The Gorilla is another close relative to humans. As a genus, gorillas are one step closer to humans than orangutans, and one step farther than chimpanzees and bonobos. Every sub-species of gorilla is considered endangered, with some less so than others.

Gorillas are the largest living primates, and are divided into two species; the Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) and the Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla).

The Cross River gorilla is a sub-species of Western gorilla. It's scientific name therefore is Gorilla gorilla diehli, with diehli being it's sub-species name.

The Cross River gorilla has never been properly counted in the wild, as its habitat is difficult to traverse to make a systematic survey. However, this sub-species exists only in a small area around the Cameroon-Nigeria border in Africa, and is estimated to have at most 300 individuals. The Cross River gorilla tends to live in groups of 2 to 20 individuals, and eat primarily fruit (when available), herbs and bark. Their low numbers leave them susceptible to illegal hunting, and a lack of protected habitat has caused extreme fragmentation of the populations. This means that groups often cannot come into contact with each other, causing a further risk of damage to the species as a result of inbreeding.

The Eastern Lowland gorilla is, as its name suggests, a sub-species of the Eastern gorilla. Its scientific name is Gorilla beringei graueri, and it is the largest of all four gorilla sub-species. Males can reach a weight of 272 kilograms (600lbs) and a standing height of 1.94 metres (6'4).

Eastern Lowland gorillas are quite sociable, living in groups of up to thirty individuals, generally consisting of one adult male, many females, and their offspring. They live in the varying ecosystems of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and though they had a population of 17000 in the 1990s, it is currently believed that their population is only half of that number today.

This steep decline is only an estimate because of the intense violence of the region in which the gorillas live. The country has been so unstable that researchers have been unable to conduct any surveys there for the past twenty years.

Both the Cross River gorilla and the Eastern Lowland gorilla are listed as critically endangered.

#animals #gorillas #endangeredspecies